Obituaries - 06/27/2014

June 27, 2014

Fr. Robert Golish, MM

Funeral Mass was held May 30 at the Maryknoll Mission Center in Ossining, New York, for Maryknoll Father Robert Golish, 90, who died at Maryknoll’s Mission St. Teresa’s residence on May 22. He had been a Maryknoll priest for 60 years, serving in Peru, Brazil, Italy and the U.S.

Born in Los Angeles, he graduated from Cathedral High School and attended the Los Angeles Junior Seminary for one year. He then entered Maryknoll Junior Seminary in Los Altos and earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Maryknoll Seminary in Ossining.

After ordination on June 13, 1943, Father Golish was missioned to Peru, serving at San Juan Bautista parish in Puno, where he ministered to the Aymara people and directed the school and hospital ministry. He returned to the U.S. in 1959, where he was assigned to Maryknoll’s promotion department serving in Chicago and Los Angeles.

In 1970, he was re-assigned to the Maryknoll Mission in Peru. He served as pastor of Parroquia De Nuestra Señora Del Pilar in Arequipa and also helped establish the Team for Human Development that provides preschool training for the children of the poor, identifies and trains community leaders and coordinates community projects. In 1983, he volunteered for the new Maryknoll Brazil Mission Unit in the Eastern Zone of Sao Paulo.

He was appointed assistant procurator general in 1988, living at Collegio Maryknoll in Rome and became procurator general of the Maryknoll Society in 1990. Six years later, he was again assigned to Peru, where he ministered until returning to the U.S. in 1997 to serve at Holy Spirit Church in San Diego. He continued in this ministry until he moved to Maryknoll’s St. Teresa’s residence in 2001, officially retiring in 2006.

Father Golish is survived by his sister, Virginia Smith of California, and several nieces and nephews. Burial was in the Maryknoll Society Cemetery in Ossining. Memorial donations may be made to the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, P.O. Box 302, Maryknoll, NY 10545.

Fr. Fernando Vega, CMF

Funeral Mass was held June 24 at the San Gabriel Mission for Claretian Father Fernando Vega, 97, who died on June 11.

Born in Santiago, Chile, he entered the Claretian seminary in Talagante, Chile, making his profession of vows in 1933. For the next 26 years, he would fulfill his responsibilities to the missionaries of his own Province in Chile and serve as teacher, principal, professor and director of the Libreria “Claret,” one of the more prestigious bookstores in South America.

In 1966, Father Vega accepted an assignment at St. John’s Church in San Marcos, Texas, and spent the next eight years giving missions around the state. In 1974, he joined the team at La Placita in Los Angeles, serving there until joining a new Claretian mission program in Central Oregon focusing on immigrants.

After taking a sabbatical break in Rome, he would return to California in 1985. He gave missions and preached throughout the Fresno Diocese, winning the hearts of the migrant community of Parlier. Following a 60-year ministry of preaching missions and pastoral service, he moved to the San Gabriel Mission. He continued to help at the mission until 2010, when he joined the Casa Claret community at Rancho Dominguez.

A humble man willing to do any type of ministry, Father Vega was supportive, affirming and “truly a man of faith,” said his fellow Claretians. Burial was in the San Gabriel Mission Cemetery.

Rafael Miranda

Rafael Miranda entered eternal life on June 15, Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Msgr. Lorenzo Miranda, archdiocesan vicar for clergy, is among nine surviving siblings.

Sr. Angela Marie Bovo, CSJ

Funeral Mass was held June 18 at Carondelet Center, Los Angeles, for St. Joseph of Carondelet Sister Angela Marie Bovo, 93, who died June 12.

Sister Bovo, born in Oakland, entered the CSJ community in Los Angeles in 1940. After profession of vows, she spent 35 years teaching primary grades in elementary schools in the Los Angeles Archdiocese including St. Bernadette, St. John the Evangelist, Transfiguration and St. Anselm (L.A.) and Our Lady of the Valley (Canoga Park).

While stationed in Contra Costa County, Sister Bovo earned a license in cosmetology, and served for 22 years, her clients including the homebound elderly, patients in convalescent homes, prisoners in the Detention Facility in Martinez and the poor served by the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

While visiting her parents’ homes in Venice, Italy, she was presented with a small painting of the “Madonna of the Streets” and told that the young girl holding the baby was her mother — a fact verified by the son of the painter, Roberto Ferruzzi, whom she met. Her mother was a young teenager standing in a square in Venice, holding her baby brother. Though the painting was not intended to be a religious piece of art, it has become known as the Madonna of the Streets.

Sister Bovo suffered a stroke in 1999 and returned to Carondelet Center. With her happy and generous spirit, like her mother, she was always recognized for beautiful and tranquil smile. She is survived by nieces, nephews, and many cousins. Burial was at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.

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